British Airways has confirmed it is to cease flights from London Heathrow to both Kiev and St Petersburg from October 4.
In the case of St Petersburg, the carrier has been operating flights to the Russian city since 1971, but said that the route “is no longer commercially viable”. BA said that “We will work with our Oneworld partner airlines and other carriers to rebook customers who hold a confirmed reservation”.
Rossiya Airlines (majority owned by Skyteam member Aeroflot) operates flights between London Gatwick and St Petersburg – Podeba Airlines (also an Aeroflot Group carrier) operated a short-lived service between Stansted and St Petersburg.
Meanwhile the carrier also provided Business Traveller with the following statement regarding its Kiev route:
“It is with regret that we are suspending flights to Kiev. We have a long and proud history of flying to Ukraine, but it is no longer commercially viable.
“We continue to listen to what our customers want and evaluate routes on a regular basis. We will work with other carriers to rebook customers who hold a confirmed reservation.”
The route suspension leaves two carriers offering flights between London and Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport – Ryanair from Stansted, and Ukraine International Airlines from Gatwick.
Wizz Air also operates flights between London Luton and the smaller Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany).
